~Chapter 5~
“Lady Rossi, you’re incredible.”
Schulva breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“I never saw that coming…”
“Well… everyone who’d been happy about their brother’s situation can’t also get a bonus win, right?”
Rossi said casually as she sat back down by Yulian’s bed.
Yulian just stared at her blankly.
…So she’d drawn up that document not out of greed, but to save him from being exploited.
Schulva muttered in worry, “What about now, Lady Rossi? Those people will come to you as soon as they see the papers. Can you hold them off…?”
“Still better than with my brother,” Rossi said calmly.
She knew one thing for sure: those people couldn’t get this money. And Yulian wasn’t too fragile now.
Yulian felt his toes tingle oddly.
When the crowd had barged in yelling about signatures, his head had throbbed like it was splitting.
Now he wondered if the doctor’s “absolute rest” warning was because someone might try and swindle him.
Was Rossi worried he wouldn’t be able to stay calm because of money greed? That’s why she’d taken everything herself.
Yulian couldn’t bring himself to ask, but Rossi gave a slight smile.
“Alright, crisis averted—let’s have the real talk.”
Yulian looked at the small girl who’d sat down just like before all the chaos.
“First…” Rossi let out a light sigh and spoke softly, sounding utterly pitiable.
“Ugh, I’m so sad, brother. My heart feels like it’s tearing, and I wonder why this happened to us. Honestly, what am I supposed to do now?”
Yulian stared at Rossi, then sighed and answered honestly.
“…Kid, isn’t it too late for all that? You seem to already know exactly what to do.”
“I thought that too,” Rossi admitted, “but it’s not helpful to just be sad and stare at you. Understand? And stop calling me ‘kid’—I’m Rossi.”
“Just… don’t sound so logical when you agree with me…” Yulian clicked his tongue, feeling a twinge in his neck. After a moment’s thought, he said,
“Well… I get it’s dangerous here. Anyway, thanks.”
He cleared his throat, looking at the girl who barely looked twelve.
“I’m going to leave here anyway. If you want, you can come with me.”
He brushed back his hair and tried to look cool.
“Life at the count’s mansion isn’t everything. Out there, you won’t run into creeps like those people. And at least until you become an adult…”
Rossi didn’t answer that. Instead, she stared intently at his heavily bandaged leg and asked suddenly,
“When will you be healed?”
“Hey, kid—whose daughter are you that won’t listen to a word I say?” Yulian groaned.
Rossi paused, thought seriously, then lit up and replied,
“Oh, I guess I take after you. You keep ignoring me and calling me ‘kid,’ too.”
“…”
Yulian had no comeback for that.
He softly smiled at Rossi, then said what the doctor told him.
“It’ll take months before I can move properly. They say I might never swing a sword like before. And who knows when my memories will come back.”
He didn’t even feel sad—he’d lost all memory of swordsmanship to begin with.
“So forget swords and all that,” Rossi said, “when you’re healed, will you at least be able to cut meat?”
“Cut meat? You mean butcher meat, not people?”
Yulian said he could definitely run the butcher shop again once he’d recovered—and Rossi seemed genuinely relieved.
“I was thinking we could go back to the old neighborhood and let you heal up there. Better than having strangers keep barging in.”
“Don’t worry,” Rossi smiled. “This won’t happen again.”
She waved away his concerns.
“I’ve already lost all my wealth. There’s nothing left to strip away.”
“Thanks for making me a broke nobody, kid.”
“Eh, it’s fine. You’ve done so much for me. Don’t thank me over this.”
Her sincere tone was unexpectedly touching.
Yulian wondered how he’d even raised a child like her back then.
“And brother,” Rossi said, grabbing his hand. “Don’t ever think of going out. You’re Grandpa’s favorite grandson—this place is the safest.”
“You’re telling me this even after seeing those people storm in with documents…”
“If it was outside, they’d have come with swords, not papers.”
Yulian swallowed at her blunt pragmatism. Just then, Schulva spoke up.
“Lady Rossi, you’re pretty naive too—those people probably see you as an easy mark. What will you do if they come back…?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Schulva.”
Rossi pouted dramatically, pretending to look worried.
“I don’t have many skills, so I guess I’ll just… boss them around, like wielding the power of wealth.”
“Bossing them? Did I hear that right?”
Yulian stared at the fragile little girl in amazement.
She’s… actually scary.
It was the gut feeling of a country thug who’d been in a few brawls.
She means it, too—that’s why she’s scary.
Rossi blinked at him, then tilted her head.
“Alright, go rest. See you tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“I’d stay longer, but I think people will start showing up again—with papers signed in my name. And you’re supposed to teach some afternoon classes too.”
She waved goodbye lightly, then whispered,
“Remember, brother—there are no relatives here you can trust.”
“…What?”
“But don’t worry.”
Rossi gave him a small smile and patted his shoulder.
“I’ll protect you.”
“What?”
“Thanks for waking up.”
“Huh?”
“I figured you’d wake soon, but still—thank you. I’ve really missed you.”
Her calm voice cracked just a bit with emotion.
Then Rossi stood, clutching her papers, and skipped out of the room. Her tiny figure hurried away… and Yulian let out a strange sigh.
He collapsed back on the bed, looking dazed.
“What was all that?”
He mumbled to himself with eyes closed.
“Why’s the broken nobody with nothing sayin’ she’ll come back tomorrow?”
Even her “see you tomorrow” echoed oddly in his ears.
